Stefano Palatchi


Stefano Palatchi Ribera, known publicly as Stefano Palatchi, is a Spanish opera singer who has sung leading bass roles in Spain and internationally and is noted for stage skills, timbre. and expressiveness. His concert repertoire includes Mozart's Requiem and Verdi's Messa da Requiem which he has sung many times.

Biography

Background

Palatchi was born in Barcelona.
His mother had studied under Conchita Badía, teacher of Montserrat Caballe. Palatchi himself had started to study singing at age 15 under Maya Maiska. He began singing zarzuela and then opera:
Un día, mientras estaba tomando clase con el maestro Puig, llegó Luis Andreu Marfà, entonces director artístico del Liceo, y me oyó cantar. Le gusté y me propuso interpretar un pequeño papel en Lohengrin de Wagner. Ese fue mi debut.
One day, as I was taking class with my teacher Puig, in came Luis Andreu Marfà, then artistic director of the Liceu, and he heard me sing. He liked me and proposed that I play a small role in Wagner's Lohengrin. That was my debut.
He went on to study under Gino Bechi, Ettore Campogalliani, and Armen Boyajian, with further studies in Florence and New York.

Career

Palatchi debuted in the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, in 1986. He also performed in Turandot, when the Liceu was reopened in 1999, following the fire which had destroyed the theatre five years earlier.
He has taken part in several hundred performances of more than thirty operas from a wide repertoire, in particular operas by Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, and those from the bel canto repertoire including: Rigoletto, Aida, Turandot, Il trovatore, La bohème, Macbeth, Lucia di Lammermoor, La forza del destino and Il barbiere di Siviglia, Samson et Dalila, and Thaïs.
He has sung in world premières of Cristóbal Colón, by Leonardo Balada, Gaudí, by Joan Guinjoan and Joc de Mans by Alberto García Detesters. In 2009, he partook in the Spanish premiere of Cristóbal Halffter's opera, Lazaro, and Tales of Hoffman
Palatchi has sung in theaters and festivals outside of Spain, including New York's Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut in 1994 as Colline in La bohème.

Activities

Palatchi supports the Clarós Foundation dedicated to the prevention of and research into acute deafness. As part of his support, he recites to raise funds for the charity.

Works

Television

Palatchi has appeared on television for opera performances, including:
Palatchi has recorded for Decca, RTVE Música, Columna Música, Nightingale Classics, Koch Discover, Astrée Auvidis, Auvidis, Auvidis Valois, Sello Autor, Naxos and Opus Arte.

Repertoire

RoleTitleComposer
RoccoFidelioBeethoven
OrovesoNormaBellini
Conte RodolfoLa sonnambulaBellini
Enrico VIIIAnna BolenaDonizetti
BaldassarreLa favoritaDonizetti
Il PrefettoLinda di ChamounixDonizetti
RaimondoLucia di LammermoorDonizetti
TalbotMaria StuardaDonizetti
MéphistophélèsFaustGounod
Frěre LaurentRoméo et JulietteGounod
Il podestàUna cosa raraMartín y Soler
Don DiěgueLe CidMassenet
PalémonThaïsMassenet
Le BailliWertherMassenet
El ogroEl gato con botasMontsalvatge
SarastroDie ZauberflöteMozart
Il CommendatoreDon GiovanniMozart
TimorTurandotPuccini
CollineLa bohèmePuccini
Vieill HébreuSamson et DalilaSaint-Saëns
PerotEl giravolt de maigToldrá
Ramfis, il ReAidaVerdi
Filippo II, inquisitoreDon CarloVerdi
Padre GuardianoLa forza del destinoVerdi
SilvaErnaniVerdi
Walter, WurmLuisa MillerVerdi
BanquoMacbethVerdi
SparafucileRigolettoVerdi
Jacopo FiescoSimon BoccanegraVerdi
JorgStiffelioVerdi
FerrandoIl trovatoreVerdi
PalemonL'enfance du ChristBerlioz
Prince BouillonAdriana LecouvreurCilea

He has expanded his repertoire into Jazz, Russian Folk, and Swing, the last of which has earned him the epithet "Crooner" in Spain.

Awards

In 2000, Palatchi received a Latin Grammy Award for Tomás Bretón's zarzuela, La Dolores.
He was nominated for another Latin Grammy for Ruperto Chapí's Margarita la Tornera and a Grammy Award for El gato con botas, by Xavier Montsalvatge.